Happy Holidays.
I hope that, as you all reflect back to the year's events, you will find enjoyment in the connections that you have
had to your friends and family. As we know, 2005 has been a difficult one for
many in our high school class group in addition to others in the USA and our world.
I hope that the support that each of you have offered to others who have been less fortunate, found a special place
for the giver and receiver. Friendships in the HHS Class of 1960 (plus friends
of the class) are strong as was witnessed during our 45th year class reunion. I
wish all of you a Happy and Healthy New Year of 2006. Fred
New E-Mail Addresses:
Blake,
Don - dmblake42@comcast.net
Clark,
Larry - lclark2309@msn.com
Day,
Delores Holton - drday829@aol.com
Eddins,
Jim - jim@eiainc.net
Harrison,
Judy Menear - harrisonh@netzero.net
Montgomery,
John Meincer - john99m@cox.net
Rahal,
Betty Tweel - betty.rahal@verizon.net
Smith,
Frank - frank1218@sbcglobal.net
Smith,
Fred - fwsmith1@verizon.net
Twiss,
Carroll Kincaid - cnc.twiss@verizon.net
Wilson,
Richard - richard_wilson@adelphia.net
Vinson,
Helen Belvin - reddwingg1@aol.com
Alice "Standing Tall Flower" Belvin Corbin. Alice Belvin Corbin's sister, Helen "Red Wing" Belvin Vinson, gave
me Alice's story. She has been on our missing list for along time. Alice Belvin went to school with us at Monroe School, West Jr. High, and HHS. She and her 12 other siblings were full-blooded Monacan Indians.
They learned the details of their ancestry as adults and some of them have been very active with political and cultural
events of the tribe. Alice was very quiet and shy as I remember. Alice's parents were Rev. Bernard and Durffie Belvin. They
both came from the Monacan Indian Nation in Bear Mountain, VA. Monacan Indians
are a Siouxian language group tribe that lived in the area now called Virginia for over 10,000 years. Bear Mountain is in Amherst County in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rev.
and Mrs. Belvin moved to the Huntington area in the 1930s. He was pastor of the
Sunshine Freewill Baptist Church, in Huntington, as well as a 38-year employee of Owens Illinois Glass Co. Alice completed the sophomore year at HHS before leaving school.
She moved to Fort Sill, OK to live with one of her older sisters. There,
she met and married Johnny Wallace, and Army man. They had three children. They divorced and Alice moved to Toledo, OH with her children. She later married Ron Corbin. They had another child. Alice passed away on July 1, 1985 at the age of 43 due to diabetes. She is buried at Docks Creek Cemetery in Kenova, WV. See Classmate
Photos for Alice's photo from 1985.
Classmate - Ceyberta "Peggy" Bias Napier. I am sorry to inform you that our classmate, Ceyberta "Peggy" Bias Napier, passed away
on September 4, 2005 following emergency stomach and intestinal surgery. The
following obituary was in the Columbus Dispatch.
NAPIER Ceyberta "Peggy" Napier, 63 of Newark. A Funeral Service will be held
on Thursday at 11 a.m. at the BRUCKER AND KISHLER FUNERAL HOME with Pastor Ray Blakely officiating. Burial will follow in
Newark Memorial Gardens. Mrs. Napier passed away September 4, 2005 at Mt. Carmel East Hospital. She was born on July 17, 1942
in Huntington, West Virginia to the late Ceybert J. and Geneva (Adkins) Bias. Peggy had worked at AT&T/ Lucent Technologies
for several years. She is a member of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ in St. Louisville, and a member of the Order
of Eastern Star in Sunbury, Ohio. She was also was an avid Craftsperson and Doll Maker. Peggy leaves behind her loving and
devoted husband of 43 years, Albert Napier, Sr. of Newark; daughters, Amber Marie (Terry) Finck of Granville, and Crystal
Lynnette (Alan) Buxton of Newark; son, Albert "Tige" (Bonnie) Napier, II of Alexandria, Ohio; grandchildren, Bethany Finck,
Adam Finck, Haley Napier, and A.J. Napier; niece, Cassie Bias. Peggy is preceded in death by her parents, and one brother
Dell Bias. Friends may call on Wednesday from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the Funeral Home, 985 N. 21st Street, Newark. Memorial Contributions
may be made to Christian Church Disciples of Christ, 127 Sugar Street St., Louisville, Ohio 43071 or to the Eastern Star Home
of Mt. Vernon. A Fellowship Luncheon will be held in Memory of Ceyberta "Peggy" Napier at the Christian Church Disciples of
Christ, 127 Sugar Street, St. Louisville, following Thursday's Funeral Services.
New Cyberpony - Delores Holton Day. Please welcome Delores to the Cyberponies. Delores lives in
Huntington. She retired in 2000 from the U.S. Government as Assistant Manager
of the Social Security office. Delores has 2 children. Her e-mail address is drday829@aol.com.
New Cyberpony - Fred Smith. Please welcome Fred Smith to the Cyberponies. Fred
lives in Hillsdale, New Jersey and is a professor of physics at the College of New York.
He has two sons (Stewart and Dennis). Fred was in the Marshall High School
Class of 1960. His e-mail address is fwsmith1@verizon.net.
New Cyberpony - Helen "Red Wing" Belvin Vinson. Helen is an older sister of Alice Belvin. Please welcome her to the Cyberponies as a friend of the class. Helen
and her husband Ed live in Lakeland, TN near Memphis. Helen was in the HHS Class
of 1956. She left school at the age of 16 and later, at the age of 44, she took
the GED and passed without taking classes. Helen has nine children and Ed has
3. They have nine grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Like Alice, Helen is a full-blooded Monacan Indian. She is
very interested and active in her Native American heritage. She is the current
caucus chair and past board member for the Tennessee Native American Council. Ed
is the current President. Helen is also on the Grandmothers Council at Manataka
American Indian Council, Hot Springs, AR. She likes to write songs, short stories,
make drums, and sing. Her e-mail address is reddwingg1@aol.com. You can learn more about Manataka at http://www.manataka.org/.
Patty Sue Adkins Thacker - Missing Classmate Found. I was recently able to track down Patty in Rush, Kentucky. She and her husband James moved to Kentucky in November, 2004 after living mostly in the Western US. They lived in Las Vegas after they were married in 1965. Then Wilmington, Delaware; Los Angeles, Long Beach, Buena Park, CA; and the last 15 years in Eugene/Springfield,
OR. Patty Sue is now retired from Target Stores.
She worked for Target for 21-1/2 years. She helped them open stores in
a number of cities and worked as a team leader. Patty and James have two children
and they raised 3 nieces/nephews. In January, they will celebrate their 41st
wedding anniversary. In 1996, Patty was selected to carry the Olympic torch during
its travel through Oregon. See Classmate Photos.
Martha May - Missing Classmate Found. Martha is now living in Ashland, Kentucky at the home of her daughter.
Jim and Janet Have Moved to Georgia. In July, Jim and Janet Eddins moved to Blairsville, GA into their new home. Their home sits on 9+ acres of beautiful land. They have been
building this home themselves in stages. They first build the garage, shop, and
apartment to use while finishing the remainder of the home. Jim advises that
"We are still finishing the house - painting, flooring and carpet. Kitchen cabinets
should be finished and in by Christmas. I am working on the party deck where
the whirlpool will sit and some of the cabinetry I am building." What a big project
to begin retirement!
Pat Richardson Adkins - Genealogy Research. I have recently heard from Pat Richardson Adkins who tells me that she has been very active
in genealogy research for her family tree. She says, "I have been doing genealogy
research since the early 1980s. I have about come to a dead end on most of my own families. I have most of them back to the
early 1700s and some into the 1600s. But records before and during that time are not easy to come by. I also try to help others when they ask for help. I get almost
as much pleasure out of helping someone who is just getting started as I got when I discovered an ancestor of my own early
on." If anyone is interested in getting started in genealogy research or are
needing some expert help in the search for their ancestors, Pat is very willing to help out.
You can contact Pat at PJAFLA@aol.com.
John Meincer Montgomery - Airborne Laser Project. John advises that "I'm an electrical
engineer with Lockheed Martin (going on 36 years now), mostly working on Mars and other interplanetary spacecraft missions. I'm currently working on the Airborne Laser program - a Missile Defense program where
we're installing a megawatt laser into a modified 747 aircraft to shoot down missiles that might be aimed at us or Israel
or another ally. It's wickedly complex with over a hundred computers working
together with lots of truly fancy optics." You can learn more about the Airborne
Laser Project that John is working on at
http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/program/abl.htm.
John lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife and four children. He is thinking of retirement in a year so.
Tom Haptonstall.
Tom and Irma Haptonstall recently visited Huntington to see family and friends. See their photograph at Classmate Photos.
Oh Those Hurricanes.
Especially Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Many of our classmates
who live in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida were severely affected by this hurricane season. Even those who did not have damage, had their lives totally interrupted for a considerable period of time.
Nelson Pace reports that he and Diane have now returned to their home in
New Orleans and they just got the electricity and heat turned on. They live in
a triplex and the services in the basement all had to be replaced due to the flooding.
They were away almost three months. They have been living with the difficult
conditions of New Orleans as the city is being rebuilt. Currently, they don't
have a post office so mailing anything is out for now. They get mail delivered
about once a week. Nelson has restarted his work back with his old company
in the mortgage loan business. Work is slow but building as the people make their
decisions about their homes. Son Duncan just returned from Baton Rouge where
he completed his first semester at LSU. He made a 3.5 grade point average. Nelson is extremely appreciative for all of the thoughts, prayers, and financial support
that his friends and family have provided. He is overwhelmed to think that he
has so many wonderful friends.
John Mechanic reports that he and his family are doing well. The roof on their home in Biloxi, MS has been repaired and John will work on the other finishing details
next year. He is retiring from the U.S. Government Civil Service on January,
3rd 2006. He has worked as a plumber/pipe fitter at the local VA hospital. He and others in their family, along with volunteers, have been busy helping his mother-in-law
repair her house, which was completely flooded out. He and his wife Cathie have
been also doing a little traveling and hope to do more after John retires.
John McDonough tells me that he has been to the coastal towns of Mississippi
a number of times and says that "there is so much destruction in the area that you just cannot imagine it". He is providing volunteer support there whenever he can. John
lives in Pearl, MS where the damage from the hurricane was much less than the coast.
He is doing fine and says Hi to all of his HHS friends.
Barbra Davis Chapman and husband Jim were chased out of their home, and off
of the Bolivar Peninsula, by Hurricane Rita. Their home is at Crystal Beach right
on the Gulf of Mexico. The mandatory evacuation kept them away for 3 weeks. Fortunately, the hurricane veered east and spared the area for major damage. They had roof damage and are still in the cue for the busy roofer crews. Jim says that there are so many roofs covered with blue tarps that it has created a new color - FEMA BLUE.
Other classmates who found themselves looking for shelter or evacuating their homes during
this hurricane season were Bill Bolt (Fort Myers, FL), Don Mankin (Tyler, TX), Donna
Darbes McGehee (Houston, TX), Mary Ellen Wharton (Port St. Lucie, FL), John Rose
(Shalimar, FL), and David Reeder (Biloxi, MS).
Remembering our Classmate's Mothers. Please join with me to remember the mothers of several of our classmates who passed away recently.
LENA BELLE TOMBLIN, 101, of Huntington, W.Va.
Linda Tomblin Watkins' mother passed away in October.
ENDRA UTAUKA "ENNY" GRALEY, 83, of Huntington, W.Va. Jim Graley's mother passed away in October.
IVA WILLIAMS WELLER, 95, of Huntington, W.Va.
Larry Williams' mother passed away in October
GRACE "GRANNY" JOHNSON ADKINS, 93, of Huntington, W.Va. Patty Sue Adkins Thacker's mother passed away in November.
Richard Retires.
Richard Wilson retired from the American Benefit Corporation on October 31, 2005. He advises the he "will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors." Congratulations Richard.
Bob Scores an Eagle.
Bob Bodine reports that he scored his first Eagle recently on the golf course. Good going Bob. That must be quite a thrill!
Sharleen Gets a New Knee.
Sharleen Berry Sane had knee replacement surgery on November 28th.
So Does Patty Sue.
Patty Sue Adkins Thacker also had knee replacement surgery on December 12th. The doctor says that she is doing great but Patty Sue says that the exercises really hurt. She spent over a week recuperating at her sister's house. Her
sister is a nurse in Huntington.
Classmates Visit in Charlotte. In August, Jim and Bev Callaway visited Larry and Helen Shaver (Jim's
sister) at their home on Lake Wylie in Charlotte, NC. While they were there,
Terry and Sandy Brodof and Jean and I were invited for a mini-reunion visit. Since Jim and Bev could not attend our class reunion in July, we all filled them in on all of the interesting
happenings from the class reunion. Larry and Helen took the group on a scenic
boat ride on Lake Wylie and we saw the many beautiful homes along the shoreline. See
Classmate Photos.
State of West Virginia Web Site. The following link is to the official web site for the State of West Virginia. http://www.wv.gov/. You will find a number of interesting sections on Business, History, Visiting
the State, Education, Travel & Tourism, Living in WV, and many useful links to other sites.
